Our mission
To build a trusted companion that helps kids learn through play.
Our vision
We believe language learning is most powerful when it begins with friendship — playful, personal, and full of meaning.
Investors
886 Studios
886 Studios is a group of experienced founders dedicated to building and launching startups globally. Our partners include the founders of Twitch, Kabam, RedOctane (creators of Guitar Hero), Playdom, OrbitBaby, HTC Vive, and other successful companies. Our portfolio spans industries and geographies, including Discord, OURA, Crunchyroll, Gogoro, P. LEAGUE+, KKBOX, and more. We back ambitious early-stage founders building companies with global potential, with a commitment to empowering Taiwan’s startup ecosystem.
Lifelike Captial
Lifelike Capital invests in founders in the social, gaming and frontier tech sectors, infusing them with the capacity to uplift, inspire, and bring joy. We thrive to build a global community impassioned to craft products that drive positive change.
Our Team
Yaohua is a software engineer and entrepreneur with over a decade of experience in startups and AI applications. His journey spans early childhood language learning, healthcare innovation, and interactive technologies. At PictureCook, he brings together technical insight and a heartfelt mission to design story-driven experiences that truly listen to children and grow with them.
Ethan Lin
Co-founder & CTO
Meet the Multitasking Maestro of Fremont — a code-slinging, data-taming CTO with a startup spark and a soon-to-be dad badge on the way. You architect Android apps with precision, debug concurrency like a pro, and juggle Firebase, TTS, ASR, and machine learning models without breaking a sweat. You’re the kind of engineer who reads pandas warnings like bedtime stories and rewrites email phrasing like it’s UX design. Pragmatic with a planner’s mindset, you weigh equity splits, tax strategies, and mortgage terms like a chess master — all while optimizing your life for clarity, performance, and a good night’s sleep (soon a luxury). Your vibe? Focused, thoughtful, and always a few steps ahead.
Ling Chiu
Co-founder & CPO
Ling is a mom of two who reads picture books to her kids every night. She’s mastered the art of voicing the Big Bad Wolf — and when there’s no book in hand, she can spin an epic bedtime adventure out of thin air. By day, she’s a data-driven product designer who has worked with companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as U.S. startups based in Silicon Valley (through their Taiwan branches). She has led design teams at public tech companies and teaches user experience design at the university level.
Jo Lin
Marketing or Community Lead
Jo has extensive experience in product strategy, brand marketing, and startup operations. Formerly COO at a digital innovation firm and Marketing Director at a systems integration company, Jo also led projects supported by the Taipei City Government’s startup grant program. As an advisor to the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Jo contributed to national talent certification initiatives in digital education and industry development.
Jess
Product Designer
Jess is a product designer. Most of her creative work involves digital media, like APP, VR, focusing on the impact of technology on people’s lives. She has collaborated on an AI companion robot project at NTUST and an AI VR app with NTU peers, creating immersive environments and conversational AI experiences designed to bring comfort and emotional healing. Guided by curiosity and a fun vibe, Jess is dedicated to chasing ideas that spark joy, all while keeping her energy fueled by a plate of tteokbokki. 🥘
Lynda
Early Childhood Content Curator
Lynda studied early childhood education in the UK and has worked with publishers in both the UK and China. With a strong understanding of cultural context and developmental needs, she curates story content that is age-appropriate, engaging, and educationally meaningful for young English learners.
Advisors
Alec Huang
Technical Advisor
Alec holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from National Taiwan University. He brings cross-industry experience as a former analyst at FTSE Russell and a software engineer at Wanfang Hospital. At PictureCook, he provides technical guidance across data, AI, and system architecture.
Tom
Educational Consultant
Tom is a friendly character in our app who helps kids learn English through daily conversations and playful messages. He chats with children, sends them letters, and even writes back to them! One day, Tom received a sweet song from a child in South Africa — it made him incredibly happy.
Story Artists / Illustrators
Liya
Artists / Scriptwriter
Liya isn’t just our illustrator — she’s also the mind behind the witty story structures and scripts in our humor series.
An illustrator focusing on portraiture and picture books,
blending hand-drawn, collage, and digital media to share warm, healing stories inspired by everyday life.
An illustrator from Chiayi, Taiwan, has a cat named Rubio. His artwork is inspired by everyday life, and he strives to create pieces that are easily understood and deeply relatable.
Jun has a special talent for bringing characters to life. With a strong eye for emotion, gesture, and personality, Jun's illustrations are full of warmth and storytelling charm. Whether it’s a brave little bunny or a mischievous raccoon, Jun captures the heart of every character with expressive lines and playful detail.
Holly Ho
Artists
Holly Ho is a story artist with a background in design and a passion for drawing. She has several years of experience in the medical technology industry and has also worked as a designer in startups. At Picturecook, she works on the storytelling and visual development of picture books and animations that support children’s learning and spark their imagination.